Process of making aluminum chloride



:UylTEosT e ema Feb.8,1927.

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" BIGNOBS TO GULF DEFINING COMPANY,

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OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A. COB- PROCESS or niexmo ALUMINUM cnnomn.

no Drawing. Application filed March a,

This invention relates to theprocess of making aluminum chloride; and it comprises a method of producing aluminum chloride with the aid of bauxite, or other form of hydrated alumina, carbon and chlorin, wherein such bauxite, or other form of hydrated alumina, is freed from water of hydra'tion and charged with adsorbed carbon prior to its contact with the chlorin by heating said bauxite with asphalt, such asphalt being at a dehydrating temperature, say arolmd 450 F., the mixture being thereafter carbonized and then exposed to the action of chlorin; all as more fully hereinafter set forth and-as claimed. j-

- Alumina (A1 0,), carbon and chlorin at a high temperature enter into a reactionwhereby aluminum chloride is formed, the oxygen of the alumina uniting with the carbon. The aluminum chloride formed goes ofi as vapor. 4 While sim 1c in rinci'ple, the operation is comparative ydi cult to carry out in practice witha good yield. In part, these 'difiiculties are inherent in the reaction itself. Looked at in one way, the}, reaction is'that of two solid bodies upon each other and upon a as simultaneousl Alumina and carbon, t efsolid bodies ta ing part in the reaction, are nonvolatile at any tempera- 30 ture'here involved and the reaction must, in

Y large-measure, await the slow .contact and action of solid on'solid.

In ractice, the bauxite and carbon are often ely ground together and briquetted. The finer the'grinding of the two and the more intimate their. association, other things being equal, the quicker the reaction goes forwar v I a In the resent invention, we have devised amcans o producing a particularly intimate associationof alumina and carbon; anasso; ciation which is practically molecular instead of being merely mechanical; and are enabled thereby materially to speed up reaction 'of. .the carbon' .and alumina with chlorin. a

Bauxite is a naturalhydrated form of alumina; it is alumina combined with water moisture in the state known aswater of on. On cautiously heating-alumina, .-c ined water may be dissociated away drlven'. the action however being slow and general-l -requiring high temperatures for its comp etion. Ina measure,-time and 1922.- Serial no. 540,821.

temperature are reciprocal. Complete expulsion of the water is desirable prior to the use of the material .for making aluminum chloride. In dehydrating or drying by heat,

"heating be prolonged, the alumina shrinks or condenses and'becomes chemically 'very much less reactive. Whether this be due to an increased density or compactness 1n struc-.

ture, preventing the chlorin gas entering it' intimately, or whether it is due to an actual diminution in chemical activity, may remain utli decided. Probably both causes are opera we.

In the present invention, in lieu of dehydrating the bauxite by heat and then admixing with carbon as is the usual practice, the roughly dried bauxite freed of sensible moisture but still containing its water of hydration is mixed with a good quality of.

asphalt at a. temperature well above the boiling point of water; say, at 450 F. As-.

phaltic material such as steam reduced oil asphalt is a particular] suitable variety of asphalt. An asphalt wlth a fixed carbon content of about 23"per cent is satisfactory. Under'the influence of the heat and of the asphalt, the chemically combined or adsorbed water (water of hydration) is removed and slmultaneously replaced by asphalt;-presumably in the same state of combination or adsorption as the water. canbe done without any shrinking or condensation or forfeiture of {chemical reactivit of the bauxite. 1 The mixture is next car onizcd orcoked; that is it is' heated to around a red heat to expel all volatile hydrocarbons. .This

leaves the bauxite thoroughlyimpregnated with carbon; the carbon being in adsorbed" relation; in a state of molecular-assoclatlon- Bauxite thus treated on exposure to ch1o-" rin, forms aluminum chloride vapors with exceptional readiness. The action of the chlorin is most complete and the yield of aluminum chloride per pound of bauxite is greater than can be obtained from bauxite dehydrated in other ways and physically mixedwith refinery coke andthe ike prior to chlorination. Y

What we claim is: v 1'. In the manufacture of aluminum chloride from bauxite, carbon and chlorin, the

process which comprises mixing hydrated 6 action of chlorin.

said bauxite, carbonizing the mixture to charge said bauxite with carbon and therebauxite with heavy hydrocarbon material of a the nature of asphalt, said material being at r a dehydrating temperature, then carbonizing the so-treated mixture and exposing to .the

2. In the manufacture of aluminum chloride from bauxite, carbon and chlorin, the process which comprises mixing hydrated bauxite with steam reduced oil asphalt at a temperature of about 450 F. to dehydrate eomi with asphaltic material at a temperature I around 450 F. to dehydrate said alumina,

carbonizing the mixture to charge said alu- I mina with adsorbed carbon and then treating with chlorin to form-aluminum chloride. 4:. In the manufacture of aluminum chlo ride from bauxite, carbon and chlorin, the

recess which comprises .mixing hydrated auxite with asphaltic material at a temperature suificient to efi'ect substantial dehydration of the bauxite and then carbonizing the mixture and exposing to the action of chlorin. a

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names at Port Arthur, Texas, this 27th day of February 1922.

' GEORGE L. fen-101mm).-

HERBERT HENDERSON. 

